THIS MORNING: Another ADX-Tadawul listing soon?

Good morning, wonderful people. We’re finally only hours away from a four-day weekend — but judging by the amount of out of office replies we’ve been getting, most of you have already checked out.

EnterpriseAM UAE will be off all of next week in observance of Eid Al Adha. We’ll be back at the usual hour on Monday, 24 June.

In the spirit of Eid, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pardoned 1,138 inmates, state news agency Wam reports. The President also pledged to cover all fines for the released inmates.

The big story here home is the Central Bank’s downward revision of its growth forecast for the year to 3.9%, as well as news that Dubai accounted for more than half of FDI into tech projects in the region last year.

PSA-

WEATHER- The weather has cooled slightly from its >40°C highs, with the mercury peaking at 39°C today in Dubai, with an overnight low of 30°C. Over in Abu Dhabi, temperatures will hit 36°C, before cooling to an overnight low of 31°C.

The Energy and Infrastructure Ministry will suspend land and maritime transport services for 24 hours starting today at 2 pm, to develop service servers, according to a ministry statement.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The G7 summit kicked off yesterday in Italy, and runs through to Saturday, with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in attendance. The meeting is set to discuss the situation in the Middle East, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change, and AI.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Agility eyeing ADX-Tadawul dual listing for ADX-listed subsidiary: Kuwaiti Agility is mulling a dual listing for its ADX-listed subsidiary, Agility Global, on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange, in a move to provide wider investment exposure for its investors, Agility Vice Chairman Tarek Sultan told the National, revealing that the logistics firm’s board could discuss the dual listing at the board level “in the very near future.” It plans to work with regulators both in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

This would mark the second ADX-Tadawul listing ever, after Americana completed its own dual listing on the two exchanges in 2022.

REMEMBER- Agility Global made its debut via a technical listing on ADX in May. Agility Global’s share price jumped more than fourfold on the first day of trading following its technical listing on ADX.

The Saudi bourse is key for exposure: “At the end of the day, [investors] want exposure to the emerging markets, they want exposure to the big economies of the Middle East, and you can’t have that in a fundamental way if you’re not present in the Kingdom,” Sultan said.

#2- Dubai to keep privatization ball rolling: Dubai is pushing forward with plans to list 10 state-owned companies on the DFM, Dubai International Financial Centre CEO Arid Amiri told Wam. Dubai has so far seen six state-owned firms list on the bourse, including most recently Parkin. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), utility company Empower, business park developer Tecom Group and road toll operator Salik all went public in 2022, while Dubai Taxi was listed in a AED 1.2 bn IPO in December.

Background: Dubai announced its plan to list 10 state-backed entities on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in 2021, in a bid to double the emirates’ financial market size to AED 3 tn.

REMEMBER- Construction firm Alec is expected to be the seventh state-owned company to list on the Dubai bourse, having already tapped advisors for the IPO.

#5- Drake & Scull is on track to land new projects by August, backed by a clean balance sheet after writing off AED 4 bn in debt and raking in AED 450 mn in fresh capital, Gulf News reports, citing comments made by Vice Chairman Ahmed Kilani during a media briefing. The firm aims to participate in tenders across the GCC “that can provide [the company] with some double-digit margins,” with the priority being major projects inside the UAE, with plans for “conservative bidding” in other GCC projects. The company aims to gain back the market’s confidence in its rebound “by mid-August 2024, [hoping] to convince everyone that we are back after 5 years,” Kilani said.

Drake & Scull will keep pursuing claims exceeding AED 2 bn against its former management, Kilani said, affirming that the contractor is not considering an out of court settlement.

REMEMBER – Drake & Scull completed its restructuring after raising AED 450 mn in a capital increase and resuming trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on 29 May, following a five-year hiatus. The construction firm’s shares were suspended from trading on the back of excessive financial losses and reporting violations. The restructuring saw the contractor write off over AED 4.18 bn in accumulated debt.

#5- Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is mulling the sale of cash-strapped ins. tech startup Wefox to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority-backed UK ins. broker Ardonagh Group that would value it at EUR 550 mn, against the German founders’ wishes, Bloomberg reports, citing a presentation it saw. The startup was valued at EUR 4.5 bn following a Mubadala-led USD 400 mn funding round in 2022. The new proposed transaction would see the startup split into two, with Ardonagh taking over the core of the company and a separate firm comprising Wefox’s tech platform and Swiss business set up and owned by early investors and shareholders.

The founders are pushing for another funding round instead, sources familiar with the matter told the business information service.

Mubadala stands to receive double its investment from a sale of the company due to a two-times liquidity preference it had negotiated at the time of its initial investment, the Financial Times writes.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Leading front pages everywhere: Tesla’s shareholders approved a USD 56 bn pay package for founder and CEO Elon Musk, as well as a move of its headquarters from Delaware to Texas (where there are more favorable courts). The vote is considered a huge victory for Musk, who is attempting to overturn a decision by the Delaware court to void a package of options, the largest in US history, which would boost Musk’s stake in the company to 20%, up from 13% currently. (Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg | WSJ | CNBC)

Also from the EV world: We’re already seeing the repercussions of the EU’s tariffs on Chinese EVs. Stellantis is planning to shift production of some of its Chinese-branded electric vehicles to Europe, with CEO Carlos Tavares saying the tariffs will serve to correct a “lack of competitiveness” among European EV manufacturers, the Financial Times said.

OVER IN PUGLIA- The G7 countries are set to provide Ukraine with USD 50 bn in loans using interest from frozen Russian assets, Reuters reports.

AND- The Trump is once again making headlines, as he makes the rounds in a bid to secure more votes ahead of elections. The former US president returned to Capitol Hill for the first time since the infamous 6 January riot to meet Republicans in a show of unity, BBC reported. He also held a business roundtable with CEOs, where he promised to slash taxes and regulations while pushing up tariffs, the Financial Times reports.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Abu Dhabi Global Market will host Abu Dhabi Finance Week from 9-12 December, it said in a statement. The global finance event will run under the theme “Welcome to the Capital of Capital,” and will focus on Abu Dhabi’s position as a financial hub in a bid to attract new firms.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.